"Zhang butcher, five taels of silver, please, a small Buddha statue."
"Master Ma, ten taels of silver, please, a medium-sized Buddha statue."
"Master Ouyang, one hundred taels of silver, please, a hanging merit plaque."
After the initial shock, the group led by A Kong began setting up tables under Huo Yuanzhen's direction, starting to record the donations.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuanzhen kept entering the Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda to retrieve Buddha statues and engraved the names of the donors on the base of each one.
The merit plaques were something Huo Yuanzhen had discovered inside the pagoda: intricately carved wooden plaques that could be displayed in prominent places. However, they were rather expensive. While a large Buddha statue cost fifty taels, a merit plaque started at a minimum of one hundred taels.
Initially, they thought it would take time for people to come to request the Buddha statues, but Huo Yuanzhen had underestimated the people's reverence and belief in unknown forces. A Buddha pagoda suddenly appearing out of nowhere, with no one able to explain how it came to be, led many to quietly believe in Buddhism and the existence of Buddha.
People were more than willing to pay for the chance to have a genuine deity bless them.
Within two hours, more than a hundred people had come to request Buddha statues, and Huo Yuanzhen had already received over three thousand taels in silver.
Among the crowd, a man in a brocade robe watched the scene unfold, while someone beside him whispered in his ear.
"Are you sure this pagoda didn't exist yesterday?"
"Yes, my lord, this pagoda wasn't here yesterday. Yesterday, some troublemakers from Shaolin came to cause a disturbance, but after the abbot scared them off, he said that Buddha would show his divine power. Then, today, this pagoda appeared. This is absolutely true; I swear it on my life. You can see these fervent people around, it's clear that something extraordinary is happening."
"If that's the case, this is indeed interesting. A small temple from Shaolin could attract the favor of Buddha."
The man in the brocade robe marveled, continually observing Huo Yuanzhen among the crowd.
"This abbot, he's young but can communicate with Buddha. He's not ordinary. Have you looked into his background?"
"My lord, we have. This young monk's Dharma name is Yi Jie. He grew up in Shaolin Temple. His master passed away, and he became the abbot. He has an older and younger brother, but none of them are skilled in martial arts. Shaolin is the smallest martial sect on Mount Shaoshi, and Yi Jie's martial skills are almost the worst there."
"Hmph, your investigation doesn't seem credible. Didn't you just say this young abbot blocked a blow from a troublemaker with his head yesterday, unharmed? If that's the case, his external martial arts must be at a high level—at least he should have mastered the Iron Head Skill, right? How can someone with such skills be the weakest in Shaoshi Mountain? When did the martial arts level of Henan get so low?"
The man in blue beside him broke into a cold sweat, repeatedly nodding. "Yes, yes, my lord, you are right, we failed to notice this. Shaolin was not well-known, and no one paid attention to them. We don't know much about them."
"Fine, just be more careful from now on. We'll find out how capable this abbot is today. Didn't you say that Niu Er is quite skilled? Let him test the abilities of this little monk. Has he arrived?"
"He's here. His group of twenty to thirty people has already blended into the crowd, but we don't know when they will act."
The man in brocade nodded. "Go add some fuel to the fire. I want to see clearly, but remember, protect this abbot in the shadows. If he can communicate with Buddha, this is extremely important for me."
"Yes! Rest assured, my lord."
The man in blue nodded, signaling to a group of others around him. Several people melted into the crowd and disappeared from sight.
As Huo Yuanzhen collected the silver, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in his heart.
He had noticed that Niu Er and his gang had mixed in with the crowd, and there were quite a few of them.
Of course, with his mastery of the Lion's Roar, he was confident he could knock them out if they gathered around him. However, his internal energy was too low, and one roar would leave him drained and defenseless. At that point, he'd need A Kong and others to intervene.
But in this crowded situation, using the Lion's Roar was impractical. He couldn't afford to gather all those people in one place and find an isolated spot to make his roar effective.
Of course, this wasn't realistic. Besides, even if they did gather, Huo Yuanzhen's current lack of energy meant he wouldn't be able to pose a serious threat to them.
He was anxious, thinking about how he could deal with the trouble.
After pondering for a moment, Huo Yuanzhen's eyes lit up, and a plan formed in his mind.
He whispered a few words to A Kong and the others before standing up.
He looked out at the crowd and said, "Good people of the county, let me speak."
By now, the crowd had settled down, with people lining up to request Buddha statues and those without money or who couldn't afford them standing at a distance, watching the miraculous events.
The people held great respect for Huo Yuanzhen, the abbot who had predicted Buddha's manifestation. Hearing his voice, the entire crowd fell silent.
"Good people, our Shaolin Temple has been blessed by Buddha. In the future, more miracles will occur. Buddha has favored Shaolin, and this land."
The crowd's faces lit up with joy. Even those who couldn't afford to donate for a Buddha statue thought that with Buddha's blessings, there would be good harvests and peace.
Seeing the people's joy, Huo Yuanzhen continued, "But there are some who wish to destroy Shaolin, to make Buddha angry at this place. They've come to Shaolin multiple times to cause trouble. Not only are they our enemies, but they are also your enemies. Think about it—while you are here, either requesting a Buddha statue or praying, these people want to destroy Shaolin. If they succeed, the pagoda will be gone, and your donations will be meaningless. Buddha will no longer protect this place. Can we tolerate such actions?"
Huo Yuanzhen skillfully appealed to people's sense of self-interest and stirred their anger.
In that time, many had old superstitions and rituals, such as sacrificing to mountain gods or river gods. Even though these were often baseless, people believed in them. How much more so for the clear and visible miracle that was happening now.
The thought that someone might ruin it all was unbearable.
Suddenly, the crowd was filled with outrage!
"Abbot, tell us who this scoundrel is, daring to harm Shaolin and the pagoda. I'll be the first to deal with him!"
The man who had donated one hundred taels for the merit plaque immediately stood up, sleeves rolled up, revealing his wrinkled arms, ready to fight anyone the moment Huo Yuanzhen pointed them out.
It wasn't just him; others who had donated to the pagoda were just as furious. They had just spent a great deal of money to pray for Buddha's protection, and now someone wanted to tear it all down? Absolutely not!
The scene quickly became chaotic, with people asking Huo Yuanzhen who was behind the trouble, who had dared to threaten the peace of their county.
Meanwhile, Niu Er and his gang, who had initially planned to cause trouble, hesitated when they saw the sudden appearance of the pagoda and the fervent people surrounding it.
Even though they were unruly thugs, they weren't stupid. Causing trouble here would anger everyone, and that would be dangerous.
Though they had been tempted to back out, some individuals came to them, offering encouragement and incentives to continue with their plans.
Niu Er, who didn't want to offend those people, was about to push forward when suddenly, Huo Yuanzhen, standing by the pagoda, pointed directly at him and shouted, "There they are! Niu Er and his gang from Dengfeng County! Although I, Buddha, am merciful, punishing evil is a virtuous act. You all don't have to hold back!"
Seeing the throng of people glaring at them, Niu Er felt his scalp tingle with fear. With a loud shout, he signaled his men to charge out of the crowd.
The thugs, being big and strong, should have been able to break through the crowd.
However, there were simply too many people, and with old people, women, and children all present, even though the thugs had brute strength, they weren't able to escape easily.
By the time Niu Er broke through the crowd, he was barely recognizable—his clothes were torn, blood covered his face, and his shoes were missing. Crawling out of the temple, he hurriedly fled with a few of his remaining men, too scared to leave any threats behind.
The victorious crowd cheered, but Huo Yuanzhen knew this wasn't the end of it.
Using the masses was a good tactic—it not only concealed his true strength but also built a solid base for future recruitment to Shaolin.
However, those who had been humiliated would be smarter next time. They would likely return under the cover of night.
Lost in thought, Huo Yuanzhen suddenly noticed a group of people in blue, protecting a middle-aged man in brocade robes, ensuring he wasn't jostled by the crowd.
Huo Yuanzhen's heart tightened. This man in brocade... didn't seem to be just anyone!